Red Glow
by BK27
Summary: Rukia is tricked into a life in the red light district. It's up to Renji to free her. A short story that is AU set in 19th century Japan. Some Ichihime in there as well.


**Red Glow**

Renji stared at the woman sitting across the fire from him. The light of the fire cast her in such a soft, warm light that he couldn't take his eyes of off her. She was so beautiful in this light. The many years that they had been friends had inevitably led to a more intimate relationship, though they never actually said they were dating. Renji was pulled from his daze when Rukia called out to him for the third time. His eyes blinked hard, then he shook his head.

"Sorry, Rukia. What were you saying?"

Rukia's brow twitched. "I was saying that someone offered me a job today. They said I get paid weekly and it's more physical work, which I think I can do."

Renji sat up. "I don't know. I mean, we aren't doing that bad."

Rukia chuckled. "Renji, we are living on mere scraps and hand me down clothes. We need the money. I already said yes."

Renji rubbed his neck and groaned. "If you think it'll help, then I guess I can't stop you."

"Damn right you can't!" They both laughed. Renji still loved her, even with her stubbornness.

They went to bed as usual. Rukia gave no indication that she would be leaving that night. Renji settled in and kissed Rukia good night.

The next morning, Renji woke to an empty bed. He didn't think much of it until an hour or so passed and he still had not seen her. He got ready and walked around the town. His sandals clearly needed to be repaired as he shuffled through the dirt road. He looked around, asked locals, and even left work early to go look for her.

That evening, she still had not returned. His heart was racing. He had searched their house top to bottom to see if there was any evidence of a struggle, or if she had left a note. There was nothing. His heart would not stop pounding in his chest. He knew he was not going to sleep that night.

As the weeks went by, he made it a point to search for Rukia at all hours of the day. He usually would get done with work around sundown, and then take to the streets to look for any sign of her. The town was large, but his determination was larger. Day after day, week after week, month after month, he would search. Finally, one night, he thought he had spotted her, but as he spun the woman around, he found that it was not her. Her name was Momo, and after he told her his story, she offered to help look for Rukia. Over time, the two grew closer, and Renji eventually stopped looking as often. He took it finally as a rather harsh breakup and moved on. It would still hurt him to see Momo wearing her clothes and living in his house. The memories of his lost friend proved to be too much, and they broke up after a few months of dating.

* * *

The summer proved to be even hotter than normal. Renji would take to the streets just to cool off since his house was much warmer than the outside. Tonight, he was out later than usual. A few cups of cool sake and some fried noodles made him feel rather content. He left the restaurant, and walked slowly down the road. He turned down one street, and without realizing it, had entered the red light district. The red glow of the lanterns shined on the ground, causing him to look up and realize where he was. He shrugged it off and kept walking. He could see the drunken men flirting with the ladies. Some men were reaching through the bars of the brothels to try and get a free feel. He could see fights, impromptu songs being sung, and people dancing. "The area sure is lively." He thought.

He passed a rather small brothel and could see there was a man with rather bright orange hair looking through the bars. Renji took a closer look as he approached and could see that the man had a sad expression on his face. He stood next to the man and faced him.

"Don't got enough money for 'em?" He asked.

The man turned his head towards Renji. Renji could see the pained look in his eyes. He realized quickly that this was different. "I'm in love with one of the ladies of this brothel."

Renji chuckled. "You and every other guy."

The man shook his head. "I really am in love with her. I want to free her from this life of hell. Her brother had debts to pay, and she was to work until his debts were paid off, but her brother died years ago, and she is still here."

Renji put his hand on the man's shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that. My name's Abarai Renji."

"Kurosaki Ichigo. Thanks for listening." He looked back through the bars.

Renji turned his head and looked. "Which one is she?"

Ichigo pointed. "The auburn haired one in the pink kimono in the far back next to the short woman in the red kimono."

Renji could see the auburn haired woman rather easily, but couldn't quite see the other woman next to him. He stepped to the side and got a better look. His heart stopped as he saw her. It was her. He began to shake as he watched her lifeless expression as the auburn haired woman spoke to her.

"Rukia!" Renji yelled as he gripped the bars. The woman behind the bars were shocked, and some moved back. "Rukia! Rukia! It's Renji. What are you doing here?!" The last part came out as his throat tightened and his eyes filled with tears. Ichigo looked at Renji in shock.

"You know one of the ladies? Which one?"

"The one next to your lady. The short one in the red kimono. I...I don't know why she's here." Renji gripped the bar so hard that it split, giving him splinters. The searing pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He began to pant heavily. Ichigo saw this and grabbed his shoulder.

"Take it easy. You can get through this. You just have to go in and ask why she's here. That's what I did with Orihime. Take a deep breath. You can buy their freedom. I'm already saving up."

Renji took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He took another, and looked up at Rukia. He then looked down at his hand and took out the fragments of wood from his hand. He nodded to Ichigo and stomped inside. Two men blocked his path with swords.

"Ya gotta pay to get the goods, man."

"You bastards." He spat on their feet and the men pushed him back.

"Listen, pal. You pay us 20 and we let you in."

Renji took out his coin purse and threw the coin on the ground. The men scowled at him, but let him pass. He was met by a man at a counter. "Which one, mister?" The man's voice was so monotone that Renji was taken aback by it.

"Rukia!" He yelled.

"Ya gotta go by numbers here." Renji nearly punched the man in the face. He looked over at the women and saw there was a number 4 on Rukia's wrist. All the women had numbers stamped on their wrists, which they always displayed.

Renji sighed and nearly started to sob again, but he held back and just choked out. "Number four."

"Ya get room 12 upstairs. She'll be up soon. Ya get one hour. 20 more for another."

Renji raced up the stairs and entered the dimly lit room. He could smell the various smells that one would expect from a brothel, but he also could smell flowers. He looked over to see lilies in a vase against one wall. He sat down and stared at the flowers until he could hear the door open and close. He spun around and saw Rukia seated near the door. She bowed to the floor, then sat up and began to take off her kimono.

"Wait, Rukia, it's me. It's Renji. See?" He took the lantern and aimed it at his face. He then caught a glimpse of her face. She was paler than usual. She looked like she hadn't eaten. Her eyes were sunken in and her expression was blank. She remained silent, then began to reach for him. He brushed her off and called her name several times. As if in a trance, she tried for him again. This time, he grabbed her wrists and shook her. "Rukia!" He yelled and put her hands down and grabbed her shoulders. "Renji, it's Renji!" She looked up into his eyes, and he could for a moment see her eyes change. They seemed to have more life in them. He let go of her, and she looked at his body from top to bottom. She looked up at him again.

"Renji?"

"Yes, it's me!" His eyes began to tear up again. "Why are you here? What happened to you? Why would you take this job? I would rather chop off my arms than have you work like this." She looked down. "Tell me why."

"Tricked." Is all she got out.

"Someone tricked you? Those bastards! I'm going right down there to tell them you are out." Renji got up to leave, but Rukia grabbed his pants leg.

"No. Men kill you. Can't go." Renji dropped to his knees and hugged Rukia.

"I promise you. I will get you out of here. I've been saving up some money, so I will see what I can do. Please wait for me Rukia. I will free you."

Renji stormed down to the front counter, but stopped just short to calm himself. His tattoos gave away that he was already running with the yakuza, so he didn't want to start anything that did not involve the other yakuza members. He met the monotone man. "Can you tell me who recruited number four?"

"All women are recruited by the madam."

"May I speak with her?"

"Was number four inadequate for you?"

Renji really wanted to punch something, but he just tightened his fist. "No, she was fine. I'd like to speak with her, please." The man nodded and walked away. A woman emerged soon after.

"What can I do for you?"

"Did you recruit number four?"

"Yes, I recruit all the women here."

"So, how exactly did you manage to make a strong willed woman like Ru..number four become someone who looks, well, dead inside?"

The woman shifted her gaze to his arms to see the tattoos. "I have no business with the yakuza."

"This isn't about the yakuza. This is about my girlfriend leaving almost a year ago in the middle of the night without saying a word. No letters, no communication at all."

"Ah, yes. If I remember correctly. She first came in to be an assistant cleaner to get more money, but the life soon pulled her in."

"What?"

"I'm sorry sir, but she came her on her own. It's not my fault she stayed here. She signed a contract with us. Sorry to say she's here for a while."

"Why did she say she was tricked? She would never do something like this. Not ever."

The woman sighed. "We have an employee that some would say has a way with words. He can talk women into whatever he wants. We like to keep him around to convince the women they need to stay to repay their debts."

Renji made a fist. "This employee. He got a name?"

She waved a fan in front of her face. "I don't give out that kind of information, especially not to the yakuza. We need men like him to stay in business, or else all the women would be unable to work due to their...emotions."

Renji instantly shot back. "How much to get her out of her contract?"

The women looked amused. "It's 10,000. You really want to pay that much for a woman that is used?"

Renji's throat was bone dry. "Yes." Was all he could get out.

"Be my guest." The woman turned and left.

* * *

Renji stopped by as often as he could to see her. He never did anything with her. He just wanted to talk to her. She still had a hard time speaking, but he would bring her food and tea. She was slowly regaining her strength. He had 6,000 stored under the floorboards in his house. He made many shady deals and worked hard with the yakuza until the other 4,000 was earned. He even had some extra to purchase some new clothes for her since he had long since either sold her items or given them to Momo. He walked up with a small bag and paid the man the 20 to get in. He then asked to speak to the madam again. She appeared and he handed her the 10 large coins. She chuckled.

"I guess getting this kind of money is not a problem for the yakuza. Just don't be freeing all of my girls. I figured you'd be coming back, so I told our employee to not speak with number four any more. Aren't I nice?"

"I may come back for number three soon, but that's it."

"Well that one is 20,000. She's too popular."

"I will let the appropriate parties know. Now please, what do we have to do to release Rukia from her contract?"

"I will bring her into this back room. Follow me." Renji and two armed men came with the madam. In the large room was a stove and some tables. It seemed to be an area where people ate.

Rukia emerged a moment later and Renji walked over and hugged her. "You're free." He whispered to her. She didn't know what to say. A stray tear formed and fell onto Renji's yakata as he pulled away. The madam walked over and lowered a bucket of water onto the floor just below Rukia. She then took a hot iron from the fire and put it over the number on Rukia's wrist. She screamed and tried to free her arm, but the madam had it. Once all of the skin where the number was burned, she dunked the arm into the cold water. Rukia hovered over the bucket and continued to wail and sob. She was shaking, so Renji knelt down and caressed her face and held her until she had stopped the crying. She finally lifted her arm and some bandages were put on over it.

"I got you a new kimono Rukia. You can tie your obi in the back now." Rukia took the bag and walked into the next room. She came back wearing a dark blue kimono with a golden yellow obi. Renji nodded and took Rukia by the other arm and led her out. As she walked out, she passed the other women that were working. She quickly said goodbye as Renji pulled her out. When she finally stepped out of the brothel, Renji turned and hugged her.

"You are free. You are free, Rukia."

She placed her hands lightly on him. "Thank you."

"Why did you take a job at a brothel Rukia?"

"I didn't know it would turn into this."

Renji shook his head. "We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to get you home. I replaced as many items as I could. Tomorrow we are going to the doctor. You should be looked at to make sure you don't have any diseases."

Rukia fidgeted. "Why would you do that?"

"So we can get you healed."

"Why do you want me?" She grabbed her arms and looked down.

"What kind of question is that? I'll always love you." He held her chin and leaned her head up to give her a soft kiss.

"Renji." She breathed out slowly as she began to cry again. They walked hand in hand until they reached their house. Rukia stepped in and collapsed on the futon. Renji put the blanket over her and pushed her hair back.

"Welcome home."

The next day, Rukia was taken to the doctor. She did have an infection from the life, but the doctor gave her herbs to take for two weeks. In two weeks, he wanted to see her again. She felt very ashamed, but Renji reassured her that it was going to be alright. Rukia confided in him that there was an employee in the brothel that was very good at manipulation. He convinced her that she needed to be there. She was still feeling like she betrayed all the women there, but Renji always snapped her out of that world. He already had known about the employee, but still wanted to hear it from her.

Two weeks later, Rukia was given an all clear and was sent home feeling much better. The doctor complimented Renji on treating Rukia well. The doctor had seen many women come in near death from the life in the red glow.

Within a month, it was like everything was a dream. She had reestablished herself and began sewing to keep the money going when Renji didn't have work. Ichigo had stopped by a few times. She found out later that Renji was giving him money. One night, Renji answered the door and closed it behind him to speak with Ichigo outside the house.

"Renji, I can get Orihime out in about a week. When she's out, we will show up here and have a nice dinner."

"I got it taken care of."

A week later, Ichigo pounded on the door. When Rukia opened it with Renji behind her, there stood Ichigo and Orihime. Ichigo looked so happy, but Orihime looked blank, just like Rukia did. Rukia hugged Orihime tightly and brought her inside. Now it was Rukia's turn to help out. They all sat around the fire and talked. The stories Renji would tell would make everyone laugh, and sometimes cause arguments between Ichigo and him.

The air grew calmer, then there seemed to be a commotion outside. Renji nodded to Ichigo as the bells around town rang for a fire. They would not let that place stay intact. At the brothel, tattooed men crept near the bars and broke a few to allow the women to escape. The rest that were in rooms were taken as soon as the flames began to spread. The men wore masks and covered their arms as they slayed all the men that came towards them. Renji would worry about payment later. Now he was more focused on keeping the two women safe and healthy. The four of them knew that things would be alright for now, but they decided to never walk in that part of town. To them, the red glow was something they would never see again.

The end.

* * *

Note: Thanks for reading. This story reminded me of Memoirs of a Geisha for some reason.


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